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Today, I finished another daily game with my mate who is just starting out in chess. I really like how my friend is trying out a different opening each time as it makes for some interesting and dynamic games. As he is a more intuitive player, these games often have some useful tips for chess players earlier on in their journey.

One of the first tips from this game for beginner players looking to improve, is that it might be worthwhile focussing on one or two initial openings first. The Italian is often good, as is the Four Knights Game. I think this does depend on what you hope to get out of chess. If it’s just for fun, then wild chaotic games with other beginners rated below 1000 are often super fun! However, for more concerted improvement, choosing one opening and improving that often makes sense, especially if you don’t actually spend much time on chess.

In the opening, if there is an opportunity to safely place the king’s and queen’s pawn in the centre of the board, this is typically good.

Remember that the positions in chess are dynamic. When you move a piece, you need to consider whether something that was defended is now undefended, and whether something that was blocked is now unblocked.

When attacking a piece or position, in the absence of something else that is forcing like a check, pin, or skewer, generally you need one more attacker than defender or else, you may end up losing material.

Generally, it’s good to keep the bishop pair and this is typically advantageous over knights as bishops are a long range attacking piece. They tend to coordinate well with each other. Meaning, unless there is a good reason, aggressively trading a bishop for a knight in the early game is often not good.

When you and your opponent have castled on opposite sides, storming the opponent’s king with a pawn push is often a good strategy. Simultaneously, remember that the defense of your king is the single most important priority unless you’re at the point of forcing a checkmate on the opponent.

I hope you enjoyed the video, and thanks for watching!

Game on chess.com: https://www.chess.com/game/daily/375963379

[Event "Let\\'s Play!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.12.30"]
[Round "?"]
[White "aadhilaziz"]
[Black "vitualis"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "660"]
[BlackElo "1088"]
[TimeControl "1/604800"]
[EndDate "2022.01.09"]
[Termination "vitualis won by checkmate"]

1. Nf3 Nc6 2. Nc3 e5 3. e4 Nf6 4. Be2 Bc5 5. Nd5 Nxe4 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. Bb5 Bd7 9. Qe2 f5 10. Bxc6 Bxc6 11. Bg5 Qd7 12. Nf4 h6 13. Bh4 g5 14. Bxg5 hxg5 15. Nd3 O-O-O 16. b4 Bb6 17. c4 g4 18. Nfe1 Qh7 19. h3 gxh3 20. g3 h2+ 21. Kg2 h1=Q+ 22. Rxh1 Qxh1# 0-1